quickie - i bought an x850xt and it has an s-video port, what plug do i need to get it to show on my tv

[angelic9144]

THIS cable?
is this what i want?? my tv doesnt have an s-video port

also, will the screen show automatically or do i need to change a setting on my computer?

i just want to play oblivion and bf2 on my flatscreen tv

 

[Hellotalkie]

Even thought most flatscreens should have svideo, but neways thats the right cable. Its not gonna look to great at all but woth a shot.

 

[Lord Evermore]

It'll look downright crappy in fact. I tried it with my x850pro just to see what it looked like compared to the s-video input. I assume you checked the box thoroughly but the video card may have come with an adapter of its own.

The TV will probably be detected right away, but you will need to go into the display properties to actually tell Windows to send anything to the screen. It sounds like you want to have both the TV and the regular VGA monitor connected at the same time. Even if you don't want the VGA screen connected all the time, it's best to start with both connected. That way you can adjust the resolution and other settings. The ATI Catalyst Control Center is essentially unusable if it's on a screen running at only 640x480 (the window is larger than the visible screen size), and is still annoying even at 800x600. Once you get the TV settings right for the best size and color and flicker-control, then you can shut down and remove the monitor if you want, and the TV will become the primary screen when you boot back up.

 

[Crafty35a]

By any chance, does your TV has component inputs (not composite)? if so, use that, along with the dongle included with your X850.

 

[Lord Evermore]

Actually I don't know that the dongle will work either. I was trying to do exactly that recently when I rebuilt my PVR and used the x850pro, which has the dongle included. The manual specifically refers to it as for HDTV output, but I figured it'd work fine with SDTV as long as it's set up with the right resolution and frequency.

First problem was that when connected to the TV, it detects only an HDTV output automatically. When outside of Windows, the output signal is ONLY for HDTV so the timing and signal is completely wrong, so no POST screen or anything. Once in Windows, you have to set the Catalyst Control Center to "Force TV detection" in order to make it give you an option for a regular TV. At that point I was able to get a signal that was at least timed properly so that I could see images, but the colors were screwed up, the blue and red seemed to be overpowering the green, and adjusting the settings made no difference (both TV and card were supposed to be YPbPr). It was simply impossible to use the component output on the TV, even though they work fine from a DVD player.

I finally got a response from ATI claiming that the component outputs were not compatible with an SDTV. I have no idea why they wouldn't be, I don't know enough about the way the signals work, but I'd think if the image can be seen, it could be compatible. I think maybe ATI was brushing me off, not understanding that my TV can actually accept up to 1024x768 input.

Aside from that, I'd think if a TV has component input it'd have at least one s-video. I'm betting this is just a low-cost flat-screen CRT, not an LCD or something.

 

[Hellotalkie]

Its pointless if u put ur pc on a tv, unless its hd.